Friday, October 14, 2022

The GENTLE Way

 

Friday, October 14, 2022

Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights.  A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people.  Gently instruct those who oppose the truth.  Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth.  Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap.  For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.  2 Timothy 2:23-26

The old apostle Paul, is sharing advice with his protégé, Timothy, a young pastor.  He is reminding him of what he’s already mentioned several times:  When you’re a pastor, you can’t get too fiery or debate-minded…you start more fires when you use fire, and one fire is enough!  Paul understood well-enough that arguing is a sure way to create division, not understanding and progress.


It's somewhat strange to contemplate Paul’s history (when he was still Saul), of persecuting the church, even handing Christians over to the executioners…against the advice he now gives Timothy, to gently instruct those who oppose the truth of God’s Word.  But time has passed, and Paul has gained insight and wisdom from the hurt he not only caused, but also experienced first-hand, when the methodology of changing the world meant might makes right.  He saw the devastation of fanaticism.  It is, as he told Timothy, the devil’s trap.

I'm not sure I have ever met a more gentle person than the one who gave birth to me.  Mom maintained a quiet, gentleness that showed support, restraint, kindness, and a safe-haven place to be…for anyone. 
Criticism was in short supply when Cecilia was speaking…and she believed in the adage that God gave you two ears and one mouth, and they ought to be used in those proportions – listen, hear, and understand, twice as much as speaking…if not more.  You always knew you would have a listening ear, without judgment.  But, in a surprising turn, whenever she had your ear, she was not hesitant to talk about God’s goodness.  I believe Mom had paid attention to Paul’s wisdom imparted to Timothy, to
gently instruct.  That is usually the only way opposers come to a change of heart…when all the rancor and harsh words are left in the dust.  It’s then God can speak to a heart, and bring a wanderer to his senses.

For You Today

There’s an old saying:  When birds are arguing, no one in the nest gets fed.

The case for the gentle way is:  when restraint, kindness, support, and a safe-haven for other ideas, is married to thinking the best of others, everyone will be fed, and God’s Spirit is freed to do what the Spirit does – empower the work of the Kingdom to flourish like a field of wildflowers in bloom.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO (read by author)

There are about 2,000 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  To dig deeper on today’s topic, explore some of these: 

Fruit of the Spirit - Part 7 Gentleness   and   A Different Time

[1] Images:  Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©   

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